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Tag: ScrumMaster

My trip to the Scrumtisch in Hamburg really was a worthwhile trip. Thanks to Christian Dähn we had a great time with a lot of interesting discussions. Christian tried an open space for the first time and it worked great. Two topics where especially interesting, both addressing a similar issue, whereby they ended up being discussed in the same breath.

1. Is an advanced self-organizing team still in need of a Scrum Master?
2.How much pressure does a team need?(Evolved to: How do we keep the pressure on the team and whose job is it?)

The thought behind 1. is that if a team is self-organizing at the highest level, what’s the job of the Scrum Master? Is it confined to moderating meetings the team has or not even that because the team takes care of it, too?
This thought is followed by the second topic. The topic owner suggested that a team advancing in a project is simultaneous getting unchallenged and therefore lazy. Continue reading ScrumMaster in an advanced Team

I just finished reading “Enterprise 2.0 – The Art of letting go”. Craig Cmehil contributed a chapter to the book and describes his work as an evangelist in the SAP Developer Network(SDN). His description of the way he works reminds me of a Scrum Master.

As a Community-Evangelist, it’s my job to drive community but not necessarily lead community

The Scrum Master is not an original leader either. He is a driver and mentor like an Evangelist. A mentor leads by advises. He shows the team the way, but they are in charge taking the road. That way the Scrum Master drives the team to a better understanding of their responsibility being self-organized. Cmehil also recommends to have fun and says:

Call and chat with them: stop by desks and say hi…talk…make them feel a valuable part…use your words and experiences. Be open and encourage by leading by example.

A Scrum Master needs the best understanding of Scrum, but also needs a good understanding of leading people by not leading them in the original way of thinking, but leading by example.